The Secrets to Reading Poetry

Poetry’s role in human language is indispensable to anyone who knows that the world is made up of more than what we can see in the here and now. Written mainly as a guide for poetry novices, though it will also please devotees, Sally Read’s The Secrets to Reading Poetry begins with the simple basics of how to read poems: how to appreciate their rhythm, imagery, metaphors, and music. Read goes on to explain some of the most crucial, and least discussed, secrets of poetry in a way that will unlock the form for the most wary of readers. As poet in residence of the Hermitage of the Three Holy Hierarchs, Read also draws on parallels between the pursuit of poetry and the spiritual journey. Through a close reading of eighteen luminous poems, she explores the search for consolation in poetry, the trust needed from us as we step into a poem, and the necessary surrender to what we can’t fully explain. By journey’s end, readers will have a better feel for what it means to respond to words with our hearts and souls as much as with our minds.